Third round of negotiations begins
Verdi demands “acceptable” offer from the post office
02/08/2023, 12:25 p.m
Verdi is demanding “a substantial salary increase,” the Post considers the union’s request unreasonable. The company intends to submit its own offer in the third round of negotiations that is now beginning.
Deutsche Post and the Verdi trade union are making a new attempt to settle their wage conflict, which has been accompanied by nationwide warning strikes. Both sides came together in Düsseldorf for the third round of negotiations, which was scheduled to last two days. Verdi is demanding 15 percent more wages for the approximately 160,000 employees for a period of one year. This is “necessary, fair and feasible,” said Verdi negotiator Andrea Kocsis.
The Post had repeatedly rejected the claim as unrealistic. However, your management had announced that it would submit an offer in Düsseldorf. “We don’t need just any offer, we need an acceptable one,” Kocsis demanded. Verdi had underlined the wage demand with massive warning strikes. According to the union, almost 100,000 people have taken part in the protests since January 19.
“The employees (…) are now expecting a round of negotiations that will end with a substantial salary increase,” said Kocsis. At the Post, around 140,000 of the 160,000 employees are grouped into pay groups in which the basic monthly salary is between 2108 and 3090 euros gross. It is precisely these employees who are affected by the high inflation. “In order to be able to pay attractive wages and to secure jobs in this area in the long term, increases in income of the magnitude demanded by Verdi are not justifiable,” the Post explained.
Rising costs in the mail business
The Post and Verdi had last agreed on wage increases in September 2020. At the time, the agreement, with a term of 28 months, provided for wages and salaries to increase by three percent as of January 1, 2021 and by another two percent on January 1, 2022.
Deutsche Post, which operates around the world and employs around 590,000 people worldwide, has long since made the lion’s share of its profits outside of the traditional mail business in Germany. Overall, the group had announced a record operating profit (EBIT) of EUR 8.4 billion for 2022, with the letter and parcel business in Germany expected to contribute around EUR 1.35 billion. When it comes to letters, Swiss Post is struggling with declining mail volumes and shrinking income while costs are rising. In addition, complaints from customers have increased recently.
For the time being, however, the Bonn-based company cannot turn the price screw. Because the postage for a standard letter, currently EUR 0.85, is scheduled to be fixed by the regulator, the Federal Network Agency, until the end of 2024. The Post had emphasized that cost increases could not simply be passed on to customers. The average rate of inflation in Germany last year was 7.9 percent.